a perfect weekend.

memorial day weekend was a success. so good i decided i really needed to blog about it. plus it's been too long.

first it's time the blogging world met this cool cat:

(isn't he the cutest? that smile gets me every time)

zach, zach attack, z, z-babe, the skater, are a few names he goes by :) i met him while i was on a date with one of his friends skating and really didn't think anything of it except for the fact that i wish i could  skate like him. i went skating a few times after that and saw him and talked to him a little bit but was quite intimidated because he really is so good at skating. i was telling KT at work about my weekend and what my plans were for new years eve that night and after i told her i had been disco skating a few times recently and telling her who i met she said, "wait zach cherrington?" after some facebook stalking it was confirmed. he was that really good skater guy. i added him on facebook and a few days later he messaged me and we went on a date January 4th. (or something like that). we started hanging out lots and soon that turned into everyday and well he's stuck around so i must not be too crazy. :) 

so there's that story. he's the best and makes me laugh hard. plus has helped me learn so much about the world and see it from a little of a different view. 

anyway. the perfect weekend. 

friday FINALLY came along. it really took it's time. we got in the car and headed to Koosharem after we got off work. We stopped at maverick for some treats and gas and were on our way. we spent the drive talking and laughing. zach's trying to practice his spanish accent so that we can communicate while i'm in ecuador. it's going.. well interesting ;) haha. after getting to Koosharem (this tiny town in central utah) and meeting up with his parents at the home they have their we went to sleep.

saturday we drove to st george. i was a little worried that our dreams of it being a hot weekend where we could golden up our pasty skin was going to be ruined by the clouds but they lasted maybe an hour. we arrived in st george and stayed with some of zach's family friends. they have a son and daughter in law around zach's age that we hung out with which made the trip even better. we went and rode the jet skis which was so much fun, came back and had great food, swam in the pool, showered and went to the new X-Men movie. I've never really been big into the series but i really liked the movie. 

the next day we basically did nothing. sleep, eat, swim, eat, catch some sun rays, eat, shower, and decided we wanted to see Divergent. it was good but not my favorite. maybe cause i was so tired. but it felt like it went on for forever. i also learned how to make rolls that i hope i can actually make without having help. and without setting something on fire. practice makes perfect right?

the next day we woke up and came home. the worst part about having great weekends is that they all come to a close. however it was so fantastic all the same. plus we get to go back to st george and do a whole lot more of nothing here soon. i really love summer. 

but this guy sure makes my heart happy. he also loves selfies. 

hooray for warm weather and the best guy around :)

Help me help Ecuador!

hello wonderful family, friends, occasional stalkers:

i need your help. and i feel a little silly for asking for it but who really likes asking for help? not many i would say.

i got accepted to go with the OSSO program to go to Quito Ecuador for a few weeks in July and am beyond excited. this program runs a few different orphanages in Ecuador and has volunteers come year round to assist them. we play with the kids, read to them, teach them different games, and even get to go out to other orphanages and bring them bags of flour/rice. you can learn more about them here and see just how amazing this program is. volunteers to 40+ hours a week in different orphanages. i've been told it will be one of the hardest yet most rewarding experiences and i couldn't be more excited.

here's how you can help me: donate! help me get to Ecuador, purchase books, craft supplies, bags of flour/rice, etc. help me help these wonderful babies, toddlers, and kids of all ages. 

if you would like to donate here is the information:

they prefer you send a check. it can be of any amount. in the memo of the check just put JanaLe Henderson Volunteer. All checks need to be made to OSSO and sent here: 

Orphanage Support Services Organization (OSSO) P.O. Box 345

Rexburg, ID 83440, USA

If you prefer to pay by card you can do that as well! however, you will be charged a 3% charge. to do this you need to go HERE and scroll down to "Other Donation". 

If you do donate, I would love to bake you cookies, watch your kids/pets, do your vacuuming, or whatever you might be in need of. if you can't donate, praying that i can relearn spanish also would be great :)

please send me a quick text/email (janalehenderson@gmail.com) if you have any questions or to let me know you donated so i can bring you cookies! 

i can't wait to have this opportunity and feel incredibly blessed by the continuing support in my life. 

OSSO.

if you know me or have read any of my blog posts you know that i love to travel. i have always wanted to see the world and have been so incredibly blessed to be able to do so. i love the feeling of being put into a place where i don't know any one and the culture is totally different. i love to learn how they see the world from where they were raised and learn from them. however i have always wanted to travel and really make a difference. i had an experience a little like this when i went to China. since i was dancing with BYU i was there for a different purpose than ever before. to spread the gospel through dancing. it was truly incredible and a feeling i can hardly describe. one of the dances that the team we were with (CDT) danced to was this song. i truly, as cheesy as this is going to sound, felt infinite and realized that is why i loved to travel, especially when it's not about me at all.

so that's why i'm about to do what i'm about to do. 

today i got a phone call during my biology class from an Idaho number. thinking it was probably just one of my aunts asking me about an up coming clogging event i decided i would call it after class. after listening to the message it went something like "Hi JanaLe, this is the OSSO organization.." once i heard that i started freaking out thinking "why are they calling me? aren't they just supposed to send me an email? on no, i didn't get in" i had to come to terms with whatever was going to happen which took the long walk home from campus. i got in my car to go to work and called them back. no answer. killer right? i breathed waited for what felt like days (probably was 3 minutes) and called back. someone answered and transferred me to the person i needed to talk to. they asked me about the rules and if i was willing to abide by them and after saying yes, yes, yes (please can you just tell me so i can breath again) "We would like to accept your application and are so excited tha

t you would be willing to join us." 

AH! I got pretty excited, tried to hold in a squeal (which if you know me, it was hard to hold in that high pitch of excitement!) and kept saying thank you. she hung up and i was probably still saying thank you. i couldn't believe it. a dream come true! i know they accept basically all volunteers so i mean i have been planning on it for a while now but after it actually being real i just can't believe it.

so here it is: for a few weeks in July i get the amazing opportunity to go serve the sweetest little babies/toddlers/kids/teens in Quito, Ecuador. wanna know something else pretty cool? one of my besets friends/sister Hannah is is Ecuador serving a mission. we will probably be a good 6 hour bus ride away but still,

same country! 

i'm so incredibly excited and grateful to be able to serve and love the people of Ecuador. i've heard that it will be one of the hardest yet most rewarding things i will ever do and i couldn't feel more blessed. 

is this real life?

simply learning.

last summer as i started to travel to europe it was a very very long journey to get there. i remember thinking we were going to be stuck on a plane for forever going all around the world. and yes i have always wanted to go all around the world but i would like to at least spend some time on the ground. we received 3 little care bags because of 3 different delays that had a tooth brush and some airline wash cloth. it was miserable. and then when we got there they lost our luggage. for not just a few hours but a few days. 

why am i bringing this up? well lately i have been learning a lot about life. surprise! and though i'm sure you might all be sick of my "life learnings" that's how i document what's going on around me and that's why i have my blog :) 

anyways. the lesson i have recently learned it this: a simple life is simply perfect.

i thought about how frustrated i was that i couldn't get to europe when i thought i was going to and though i did have a good attitude for the most part (see picture above haha) i was going to europe of all places! and that's got me thinking. so many times i focus on silly things to make me happy. like if only i could have better skin or if tests came just a little bit easier to me. most often it has to do with money and how i hope i make enough with a certain job that i get when i graduate from college so that i could adventure with my family or get great stuff. then i had a little bit of a wake up call.

you see i was sitting in an LDS church building in the middle of nowhere small town Utah called Koosharem. (where's that? i'm not even really sure but it's the best place ever, next to The Ranch in idaho of course which is also in the middle of nowhere) I felt like I was in the south. everyone was so welcoming and loving! but one of the talks was given by a quite older guy. he was telling us how he would take his granddaughter out on a date every month to get ice cream. first of all, your hearts should already be melted because i would give anything to sit down with a bowl of ice cream with either of my grandpas. but that week someone had hacked into his bank account and taken everything and by everything i mean even the most recent pay check he had just deposited. everything. he told his 11 year old granddaughter and he goes on to say, "she looked at me confused and said well grandpa at least they didn't take anything important." 

at that moment i think i got struck by lightning. i'd almost bet on it if i could. i've been thinking what that little girl said since i heard that story 2 weeks ago and have really tried to look at life differently. yes it would be nice to have better skin because i have always struggled with that or even do better on tests because i feel like that is a never ending terrible cycle of incredibly bad luck or have lots of money and all of that stuff would be really great and i do want to be able to live comfortably with a future family but what's most important? 

well i thought about that question a lot this week and this was my list:

My Heavenly Father

Jesus Christ,

The Gospel,

My Family

and i'd even go on to add education at least in some way shape or form.

As long as i have those who i love around me i have it all because some people don't even have that! how lucky am i to be going to BYU, traveled quite a bit, teach little kids how to clog, have a great job, AMAZING friends, and the best family in the entire world? well i'm not sure how i got so blessed but i bet if you looked around you would find the same thing.

what makes you truly happy? for me i have found it really is all the simple things! it's: a bowl of reid's dairy ice cream (thank you idaho), it's reading a good book on my back porch with the hot sun, it's talking to my mom about life experiences, a funny picture on pinterest, sleeping in a few extra minutes, and so much more little simple things. 

as i have come to this conclusion of "simple living is simply happiness" i have been a heck of a lot happier and ever so grateful. try it. it's simple. it's the best. it's happiness.  

go team.